Arcane Magic
File:Arcane Tactics.jpg|Arcane magic is the quintessential combination of spell power and efficiency. - Arcane Tactics File:Arcane Blast.jpg|Each blast of arcane power strikes its target more quickly than the last. - Arcane Blast File:Arcane Missiles.jpg|As mage spells go, this one isn't the showiest. Nonetheless, you'll find it quite effective. - Arcane Missiles Arcane is a fundamental power which mana is a measure of.Dave Kosak on Twitter: An upcoming book will detail these and other fundamental forces! Arcane is a fundamental power, "Mana" is just a measure of it. Arcane Mysteries Arcane mysteries are of life and death. The forces of Death and Life hold sway over every living thing in the physical universe. Death, in the form of necromantic magic, acts as a counterbalance to Life. It is an unavoidable force that breeds despair in mortal hearts and pushes everything toward a state of entropic decay and eventual oblivion. Life's energies, known commonly as nature magic, promote growth and renewal in all things.World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 pg. 22 on iBooks Druids Balance druids access arcane and nature magics by leveraging the sacred powers of the moon, the sun, and the stars— magics made more potent still through shapeshifting, when the spellcaster takes the the moonkin's form—to aid in the fight against imbalance that threatens the natural order of all things.Legion Class Preview Series: Druid - By leveraging the sacred powers of the moon, the sun, and the stars, balance druids access arcane and nature magics—made more potent still through shapeshifting, when the spellcaster takes the form of the moonkin—to aid in the fight against imbalance that threatens the natural order of all things. Necromancers Necromancers are macabre practitioners of life and death. Entropy (Disorder vs. Order) "...The stars march in order across the sky, the seasons fall one after the other with lockstepped regularity, and men and women live and die. If that does not happen, it's magic, the first warping of the universe, a few floorboards that are bent out of shape, waiting for industrious hands to pry them up." - MedivhThe Last Guardian pg. 149 on iBooks The forces of Disorder and Order govern the cosmic systems of the physical universe. Disorder is manifested as highly destructive fel magic. This brutal and extremely addictive form of energy is fueled by drawing life from living beings. Conversely, Order is most commonly perceived in reality as arcane magic. This type of energy is innately volatile, and wielding it requires intense precision and concentration.World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 pg. 22 on iBooks Titans vs. Demons Composed of the primordial matter from which the universe was born, the titans are colossal godlike beings who are uniquely susceptible to fel magic.World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 pg. 134 on iBooks Like walking worlds, imbued with the raw power of creation itself, they roam the cosmos.World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 pg. 33-34 on iBooks Legends hold that Aman'Thul was the name of the first titan that awoke. Aman'Thul, though he was alone, knew in his heart that others of his kind must exist. Intent on finding more titans, he explored the worlds of the Great Dark Beyond. His quest was arduous and lonely, but ultimately, it was fulfilling. In time, he discovered other nascent world-souls. Aman'Thul lovingly nurtured these newfound kind and roused them from slumber. These kin who awakened devoted themselves to his search. Aman'Thul and his siblings later became known as the Pantheon. Benevolent by nature, they were creatures alined with order and stability. Order, the Pantheon's titans came to realize, was crucial to finding others of their kind. To ascertain whether a world-soul was present, they employed techniques on each world: * First, the Pantheon would pacify the raging elemental populations of a world. A burgeoning world-soul can be so vast that it draws in and consumes much of the fifth element, Spirit. Without Spirit to create balance, elemental spirits descend into chaos.World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 pg. 69 * Then, they would reshape the world. * And lastly, the titans would seed myriad life-forms across the newly ordered world. In doing so, the Pantheon hoped to call forth the world-soul and help bring it to maturity. Most of the time the worlds visited by the titans proved inert however. Vowing to mantain and protect all of these worlds, even those that did not contain a slumbering spirit, the Pantheon empowered primitive life-forms to uphold the integrity of their orders worlds. In addition, the Pantheon embedded colossal machines in the surface of the worlds that they had shaped. The titans could monitor their worlds through these devices-and purge them of life should their evolutionary paths succumb to disorderWorld of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 pgs. 43-47 on iBooks--which manifests as highly destructive fel magic. All creatures who use the power of fel magic, willingly or otherwise, slowly take on the appearance of demons.World of Warcraft > Game Guide > Dungeons, Raids, Scenarios > The Burning Crusade > The Blood Furnace > The Maker Demons had been formed as a result of the Light and Void energies that bled together at borders of the Twisting Nether. These abberations eventually clawed their way into the physical universe, terrorizing mortal civilizations and bringing ruin to world after world. Soon, the Pantheon learned of the demonic incursions that flared at the far corners of the creatures.World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 1 pg.52-554 Warlocks vs. Mages File:Soul Trap.jpg|Fel magic has a profound effect on the soul - both the victim's and the warlock's. - Soul Trap File:Ritual Sacrifice TCG.jpg|Warlocks use every tool at their disposal, including friends. - Ritual Sacrifice File:Drain Mana.jpg|Tremendous power comes from a warlock's ability to sustain complex rituals. - Drain Mana Warlocks are the equivalent to mages. Mages of the arcane are diviners of secrets, balancing the ebb and flow of incredible mystic energies. To manipulate the volatile forces of the universe unparalleled skill is required. These practitioners push their magical knowledge to its very limits—often to the brink of their own exhaustion, and at great risk to the world around them. Drawing upon replenishing energies to maintain their assault for as long as the battle demands, those who master this craft are capable of releasing a barrage of unrelenting power upon their enemies.Legion Class Preview Series: Mage - Mages of the arcane are diviners of secrets, balancing the ebb and flow of incredible mystic energies. Unparalleled skill is required to manipulate the volatile forces of the universe. These practitioners push their magical knowledge to its very limits—often to the brink of their own exhaustion, and at great risk to the world around them. Those who master this craft are capable of releasing a barrage of unrelenting power upon their enemies, drawing upon replenishing energies to maintain their assault for as long as the battle demands. File:Reverse Polarity.jpg|"Arcane magic doesn't follow normal rules of nature. Opposites definitely do not attract." - Belmaril, Timewalker Bloodmage File:Mana Jade.jpg|"Typical magecraft, to conjure a thing of such beauty only to sacrifice it." - Raesa Morningstar File:Evocation.jpg|For those trained to draw on its power, the wellspring of magical energy is limitless. A common perception was shared that the magi's magic was unholy and possibly even demonic.Tides of Darkness pg. 537 This might be because it seems that if there a difference between fel, the language of chaos, and arcane, the language of order, it seems to be a difference established between opinion rather than fact: Energies are naturally chaotic in the sense that they want to spread out and become "messy". In addition, there is a certainty that chaotic energies will always behave chaotically. If chaotic energies don't have to behave chaotically, they can behave orderly (the seemingly opposite of chaotically). There is an order to chaos if chaotic energies can behave orderly, which means that chaos and order are not opposites, but the same. As the arcane user Iyyokuk the Lucid states, "Chaos is order unrecognized by a lesser mind!" ; Please note: Despite the fact that energies are naturally chaotic, Matt Burns thinks there are exceptions to "that" rule when it comes to Warcraft powers since they are all magic.Matt Burns on Twitter: 'I think there are some exceptions to that rule when it comes to Warcraft powers since they are all magic. Warlocks are magical practitioners who seek to understand darker, fel-based magics, including destructive spells. Fel magic—the ways of the warlock—Hearthstone > News > Gul'dan, The Warlockis a destructive form of magic.Ultimate Visual Guide To fuel the magic, but an insignificant sacrifice is required. According to how it was described: Fel is chaotic energy. Warlocks convert life into fel, draining the victim as a source of power.Dave Kosak on Twitter: The way I would describe it: Fel is chaotic energy. Warlocks convert life into fel, draining the victim as a source of power. Warlocks who command the power of destruction favor incantations of pure chaos and aggression in battle. In this regard, they’d find a strong kinship with fire mages—"if not for their propensity to make use of magic deemed detestable by all mage orders".Legion Class Preview Series: Warlock Races Influenced by the Arcane Blue Dragons Norgannon granted the blue dragon, Malygos, a portion of his vast power. From then on, Malygos would be known as the Spell-Weaver, the guardian of magic and hidden arcanum.Charge of the Dragonflights After the death of the blue Aspect Malygos, Kalecgos was chosen by his fellow blue dragons to lead as the new Aspect of the blue dragonflight.Ultimate Visual Guide pg.172 Ethereals K'aresh was an arid planet, home to a thriving ecosystem and several sentient species before the arrival of Dimensius the All-Devouring. How the void lord found K'aresh is still hotly debated among the surviving ethereals, but the effects of his coming were unmistakable: he opened countless gateways into the void and the Twisting Nether around the planet, bathing K'aresh in arcane and dark energies. Using every scrap of its advanced technology, one of the mortal races hastily attempted to construct magical barriers around its cities, but it was only partially successful; although the dark energies were blocked, the unimpeded flood of arcane energy tore away the mortals' corporeal shells and infused their souls with enough energy so that they could subsist without a body… barely. Members of this race, now called ethereals, took to binding themselves with enchanted strips of cloth to provide their souls with enough structure to survive. This altered state proved to be a blessing in disguise, as their enhanced minds and magical abilities allowed the ethereals to fight Dimensius and his limited forces to a standstill. Over the years, however, Dimensius eventually grew powerful enough to summon armies of fellow void creatures, forcing the ethereals to flee into the Twisting Nether.Ask CDev Sin'dorei All blood elves are tied to the arcane, even those who don't practice the arts themselves.WoW TCG Card: Silea Dawnwalker - ''All blood elves are tied to the arcane, even those who don't practice the arts themselves. Deprived of the Sunwell, the sin'dorei have learned new techniques for manipulating arcane magic.WoW TCG Card: Arcane Torrent - ''Deprived of the Sunwell, the sin'dorei have learned new techniques for manipulating arcane magic.' Blood elves can sense the ebb and flow of arcane magic, and they often manipulate that magic to serve their needs.WoW TCG Card: Tyrus Sheynathren - ''Blood elves can sense the ebb and flow of arcane magic, and they often manipulate that magic to serve their needs. Rules of Arcane Magic In the Warcraft universe, there is an instability, and those skilled in arcane magic have learned how to exploit that instability.Ask CDev However, there were magi who held that the rules of arcane magic were absolute.World of Warcraft > Game Guide > Tales, Comics, Videos > Short Stories > Charge of the Aspects > Page 3 Beyond the Limits of Order The Twisting Nether is an astral dimension beyond the edge of reason, beyond the limits of order...the chaos from which the demons had come.The Sundering pg. 71-72 on iBooks Demonology Demonology is the practice of warlocks. By their very nature, demons are leeches on the living universe—but the demonologist has mastered harnessing the power of these malefic beings on the field of battle. Warlocks harvest the souls of their defeated enemies; those specialized in the ways of demonology use this life essence to tap into the Void, pulling all manner of abomination from the chaos of the Twisting Nether. While such a practice is often considered by outsiders to be wicked and reckless, the demonologist maintains absolute control over the summoned creatures. These malignant entities are fully beholden to—and empowered by—the will of the warlock, until banished to the realm from whence they came. File:Banish.jpg|When you draw power from demons, it's a good idea to have a backup plan in case they disagree. - Banish|thumb|none|link=http://wowmagic.wikia.com/wiki/File File:Nether Rift.jpg|A Nether Rift: "These runes suggest the presence of even greater demonic powers." - Vakeron|thumb|none|link=http://wowmagic.wikia.com/wiki/File:Neth Please Note: Demons and demonic power (or warlocks magics) would exist in, and be derived from, the Twisting Nether. However, when asked if perhaps warlocks were harnessing their power from the Twisting Nether, Blizzard's very own Senior Lore Historian—Sean Copeland—replied, “No, that’d be magi...".. Schools of Arcane Magic "'''To master the arcane is to measure all possible outcomes - then create a new one.'" - High Arcanist EldrissaWoW TCG Card: High Arcanist Eldrissa - ''"To master the arcane is to measure all possible outcomes - then create a new one." Abjuration One of the most important schools for a young mage to study is Abjuration, the study (and the presumable practice) of protective magic. The most generalized abjuration spell, which involves Transmutation, is the mana shield (a spell that transmutes raw mana into a barrier that protects the caster from attacks).The Schools of Arcane Magic - Abjuration Conjuration Conjuration is the study (and the presumable practice) of summoning - both creatures and objects.The Schools of Arcane Magic - Conjuration Divination "'''No one has solved all thy mysteries of the Arcane.'" - High Magus Olvek''WoW TCG Card: Infinite Brilliance - "No one has solved all thy mysteries of the Arcane." - High Magus Olvek File:Mage Training.jpg|Mage Training Divination is the school of magic dedicated to gathering information. Powerful divinations can allow the mage to see targets from a great distance, or even view what may normally be invisible. One of the most common uses of divination magic is scrying, which is the art of seeing something that may be far away - perhaps even on another plane of existence.The Schools of Arcane Magic - Divination In the divination school, spells to counteract illusions exist.The Schools of Arcane Magic - Illusion However, the school of illusion can be combined with the divination school: The Eye of Kilrogg spell (a variation on summoning and necromantic magiks) conjures a free-floating apparition/illusion in the form of a disembodied Eye that transmits its view to the caster, giving him the knowledge of both the lands it wanders and those creatures who live there. Enchantment Enchantment is the process of imbuing an object - or person - with magical power.The Schools of Arcane Magic - Enchantment Illusion File:Mirror Image.jpg|Mirror Images: "How do you know which one is real?!" - Dizdemona File:Invisibility.jpg|They'll never see it coming. - Invisibility Illusion' '''is the art of deceiving reality itself. The mists of illusion can make a mage invisible or inaudible to the world or twist the image of a location into something entirely different. Illusion can be used for disguise or manipulation, but beware, spells to counteract illusions exist in the divination school, the school of magic dedicated to gathering information. It is not viable to base your entire career on illusionary magic. Contrary to popular belief, illusions are far more than mere parlor tricks. The spell of invisibility is among the most integral in a battle mage's repertoire, as you will often find yourself in dangerous situations and in need of a quick method for a strategic retreat. Illusions can also be used to deceive your opponents into thinking that you are elsewhere, or even trick your enemies into fighting each other. This is no easy task, but the accomplished illusionist can turn allies into enemies - and his or her own enemies into allies.The Schools of Arcane Magic - Illusion In the divination school, spells to counteract illusions exist.The Schools of Arcane Magic - Illusion However, the school of illusion can be combined with the divination school: The Eye of Kilrogg spell (a variation on summoning and necromantic magiks) conjures a free-floating apparition in the form of a disembodied Eye that transmits its view to the caster, giving him the knowledge of both the lands it wanders and thoe creatures who live there. Even though illusion is defined as the art of deceiving reality itself, can one actually deceive reality with an energy that is considered a real force in the World of Warcraft? As the Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron whispers: There is no sharp distinction between the real and the unreal.Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron - There is no sharp distinction between the real and the unreal. Necromancy ''"'If you are willing, the arcane will feed even your most twisted desires." - Flame Keeper Rizzli''WoW TCG Card: Twisted Arcana Necromancy is the study (and presumable practice) of magic involving the dead.Ultimate Visual Guide Necromantic magic has many functions beyond simply raising the dead. Masters of this tainted field of magic can conjure festering diseases, harness the shadows into bolts of incendiary energy, and chill the living with the power of death. Necromancy can also be used to reconstruct the flesh of undead creatures, allowing them to function again even after the foul monsters have been destroyed. Transmutation File:Slow.jpg|"A ... little ... help ... here?" - Slow File:Transfigure.jpg|"Because I know something you don't know ... I am not left-handed." - Transfigure File:Polymorph.jpg|"Baaaaa." - Polymorph Transmutation is among the most popular and useful of all of the schools, allowing a mage to manipulate time and space.The Schools of Arcane Magic - Transmutation Arcane magic involves time and space and as such, arcane magic can be considered '''transmutation magic. File:Portal.jpg|"The shortest distance between two points is one incantation." - Blaize Brightspark Teleportation is a use for transmutation magic.The Schools of Arcane Magic - Transmutation Sympathy ''"When someone handles an item, they leave a part of their own magical aura attached to it." - ''KhadgarWoW TCG Card: Khadgar's Kilt of Abjuration Sympathy is one of the laws of magic. Magical auras are attached to items when someone handles an item. Because auras vary with individuals, it is possible to connect to the individual by affecting the item. Sympathy may allow a lock of hair to be used in a love charm, or a coin to be tracked back to its original owner. An expert can even read handwritten letters or books without having to actually read them.The Last Guardian pg. 40 on ebooks Well of Eternity In Azeroth, arcane energies were concentrated in a well called the Well of Eternity, which was crafted by the titans.Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos Game Manual - The Ordering of Azeroth The Well of Eternity drew its energies from the infinite Great Dark beyond the world, acting as a mystical fount, sending its potent energies out across the world to nourish life. Thousands of years ago, a primitive tribe composed of nocturnal humanoids known as trolls made their way to the mesmerizing, enchanted lake's edges. Drawn by the Well's strange energies, they built homes upon its shores. The Well's energies affected them over time, making them strong, virtually immortal, and wise. The tribe adopted the name Kaldorei, which meant "children of the stars" in their native tongue. Their magic had to do with the night.The Well of Eternity pg. 188 Elune Daylight was the time when the night elves' link to the Well of Eternity was at its weakestThe Demon Soul pg. 38 - True, he could have studied druidism at night, too, but daylight was the time when his people's link to the Well of Eternity was at its weakest. and the night elves worshipped the moon goddess, Elune, believing that she slept within the Well's shimmering depths during the daylight hours.Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos Game Manual - The Kaldorei and the Well of Eternity As they were tied to the Well of Eternity, the night elves were also strengthened by the moon and stars.The Demon Soul pg. 57-58 References Category:Magic Category:Lore